COVID-19/Coronavirus thread

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, Texsox said:

I just found in an article that about $30B will go to "stabilizing" universities. That doesn't sound like an opportunity for waste. Hopefully some will go to all the non tenure staff. 

LOL we already have our layoff notices. 

[Chisoxfn]

10 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

LOL we already have our layoff notices. 

I would suspect a lot could potentially change between now and the time where they go through hiring, etc?  Or am I off basis and just overly optimistic?  Either way, for your own sake I'm hoping that is the case (and that you end up getting surprised with good news before your effective termination date).  

[Harry Chappas]

1 hour ago, Balta1701 said:

LOL we already have our layoff notices. 

We is the rationale?  Is there going to be a perceived lack of state funding? 

 

Tuition and fees through the semester should already be collected. 

 

 

[Balta1701]

1 hour ago, Chisoxfn said:

I would suspect a lot could potentially change between now and the time where they go through hiring, etc?  Or am I off basis and just overly optimistic?  Either way, for your own sake I'm hoping that is the case (and that you end up getting surprised with good news before your effective termination date).  

Nope. Searches take 6-8 months start to finish in academia, when these schools cancel them they're saying you're out of luck for the year and that the work you put into them months ago is going in the trash. We'll be lucky if there are any offered in the fall, especially since now people won't retire next year as their stock portfolios have been devastated. From the university perspective canceling all hires and letting go of anyone who isn't tenured makes sense, they have no idea what their student population is going to even look like this fall, let alone whether everything will be online, so they should cut their expenses now.

I've still got a few applications out there but I have no confidence in any of them, at best the searches are currently frozen. Literally my only realistic chance at staying employed is for someone else to get sick. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing in June.

[ron883]

20 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Nope. Searches take 6-8 months start to finish in academia, when these schools cancel them they're saying you're out of luck for the year and that the work you put into them months ago is going in the trash. We'll be lucky if there are any offered in the fall, especially since now people won't retire next year as their stock portfolios have been devastated. From the university perspective canceling all hires and letting go of anyone who isn't tenured makes sense, they have no idea what their student population is going to even look like this fall, let alone whether everything will be online, so they should cut their expenses now.

I've still got a few applications out there but I have no confidence in any of them, at best the searches are currently frozen. Literally my only realistic chance at staying employed is for someone else to get sick. I have no idea what I'm going to be doing in June.

Do you mind me asking what level you teach at and what you teach?

[Balta1701]

Just now, Yearnin' for Yermin said:

Do you mind me asking what level you teach at and what you teach?

Ph.D. in Geology, have been an (award winning) University lecturer the last 6 years. Because I have never been able to find a permanent (Tenure-track) position, I'm basically being kicked out this year. 

Am looking at high school teaching jobs in the area, but when you've never taught high school the Ph.D. advantage is balanced by the lack of experience. 

[turnin' two]

On 3/25/2020 at 11:25 PM, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

 

American taxpayers just spent another $6000 to get $1200 in return and a bunch of corporate bailouts. Corporations get propped up while people are shamed for not saving months of savings when they dont get paid enough.

So, what if those corporations aren't bailed out, say Boeing.  They're a bad guy.  They've done stupid and unethical things.  Now they're getting bailed out, and there is much fury.  Ok.  There are nearly 140,000 Americans who work at Boeing.  By bailing out Boeing, those 140K people still have jobs.  If Boeing were to fail, then not only does the US lose an important manufacturer, but 140k more people don't have jobs.  And yeah, that's a drop in the bucket of what has happened, and will continue to happen,but for every employee at Boeing, there are more employees at other companies that need money to keep the doors open.  Will some of it be spent selfishly or irresponsibly?  Yeah.  Almost certainly.  Because there are always people that act irresponsibly.  But as much as people hate to admit it, there are a lot of people that need these evil "corporations".

[ron883]

7 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Ph.D. in Geology, have been an (award winning) University lecturer the last 6 years. Because I have never been able to find a permanent (Tenure-track) position, I'm basically being kicked out this year. 

Am looking at high school teaching jobs in the area, but when you've never taught high school the Ph.D. advantage is balanced by the lack of experience. 

Oh nice. I'm an environmental engineer, so I work with a bunch of geologists. Ever think of venturing into the environmental consulting world or no?

[Balta1701]

1 minute ago, Yearnin' for Yermin said:

Oh nice. I'm an environmental engineer, so I work with a bunch of geologists. Ever think of venturing into the environmental consulting world or no?

I'll be looking at jobs like that in the fall but steep learning curve since the stuff I work on is far from environmental, so if there's lots of people and very few jobs I'm at a disadvantage again.

[Texsox]

19 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

Ph.D. in Geology, have been an (award winning) University lecturer the last 6 years. Because I have never been able to find a permanent (Tenure-track) position, I'm basically being kicked out this year. 

Am looking at high school teaching jobs in the area, but when you've never taught high school the Ph.D. advantage is balanced by the lack of experience. 

How big of an area are you looking at? Would San Antonio be feasible?

[bmags]

9 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

I'll be looking at jobs like that in the fall but steep learning curve since the stuff I work on is far from environmental, so if there's lots of people and very few jobs I'm at a disadvantage again.

probably not the most exciting thing but seems like a perfect fit for places like berkeley research group or any big disputes and investigations work.

[Balta1701]

Just now, bmags said:

probably not the most exciting thing but seems like a perfect fit for places like berkeley research group or any big disputes and investigations work.

Already expecting to have to try stuff like this in the summer. Right now trying to survive 2 months of intensive online teaching, preferably without getting sick and dying in the process.

[Balta1701]

2 minutes ago, Texsox said:

How big of an area are you looking at? Would San Antonio be feasible?

Would depend on the position. San Antonio isn't driveable, so if it's like a temporary/1 year position then no, I'd rather just find a retail job around here. If it was a permanent position where one could afford to live there, sure.

[bmags]

1 minute ago, Balta1701 said:

Already expecting to have to try stuff like this in the summer. Right now trying to survive 2 months of intensive online teaching, preferably without getting sick and dying in the process.

good luck man.

[Texsox]

1 minute ago, Balta1701 said:

Would depend on the position. San Antonio isn't driveable, so if it's like a temporary/1 year position then no, I'd rather just find a retail job around here. If it was a permanent position where one could afford to live there, sure.

I'm at the best district in San Antonio - Northside. Once you have an application in I can help get you interviews. We have 11 high schools total so there are usually openings. Have you started your certification process? One thought about being at the high school level with a PhD are paths to lead curriculum and instruction teams at a district level. Most of our central office staff have their terminal degrees. 

[Balta1701]

1 minute ago, Texsox said:

I'm at the best district in San Antonio - Northside. Once you have an application in I can help get you interviews. We have 11 high schools total so there are usually openings. Have you started your certification process? One thought about being at the high school level with a PhD are paths to lead curriculum and instruction teams at a district level. Most of our central office staff have their terminal degrees. 

No I haven't, and I'm uncertain what to do with the certification process. If you happen to be familiar with that I'd take tips, I'm just googling and saying I don't have time for this while still teaching.

[bmags]

34 minutes ago, turnin' two said:

So, what if those corporations aren't bailed out, say Boeing.  They're a bad guy.  They've done stupid and unethical things.  Now they're getting bailed out, and there is much fury.  Ok.  There are nearly 140,000 Americans who work at Boeing.  By bailing out Boeing, those 140K people still have jobs.  If Boeing were to fail, then not only does the US lose an important manufacturer, but 140k more people don't have jobs.  And yeah, that's a drop in the bucket of what has happened, and will continue to happen,but for every employee at Boeing, there are more employees at other companies that need money to keep the doors open.  Will some of it be spent selfishly or irresponsibly?  Yeah.  Almost certainly.  Because there are always people that act irresponsibly.  But as much as people hate to admit it, there are a lot of people that need these evil "corporations".

Right, and especially in Chicago...do we want Boeing to shed all of those jobs? 

But also...the extra UI benefits are a major portion of this bill and those are not loans. Much of the corporate relief will be paid back, as it looks like it is just formalizing a process that the FED was going to do anyway.

[greg775]

On 3/21/2020 at 11:26 PM, Balta1701 said:

All that is great. That’s what good people are doing.

However, if you are going to a beach, or hanging out on park benches, or actually going to your barber or to the last open sit down restaurant right now...

That would make you a bad person.

We know enough to say that. If you are doing things that enhance the risk of transmission you are trying to murder people. You could kill dozens. You are trying to be a murderer. If you tell your barber you need that haircut now or you insist on sitting down at Panera Bread you are playing Russian Roulette with everyone around you.

If I put one bullet in a revolver and held it to the head of whoever is next to me and pulled the trigger because I feel good if I do so... I would be a bad person.

Do what you need to do to support your neighbors, but if you increase the risk of transmission by coming into contact with them or things they touch, you are trying to kill them.

Why does hanging out at a park make me a bad person if no people are around? The experts SAID we can get outside for fresh air. Geez. You are being overdramatic and mean and out of line with these two sentences ...

• That would make you a bad person.

• You are trying to be a murderer

No I am not. How come with this issue there's no thought at all about mental frame of mind, mental illness if you will. But before corona it was all about everybody's mental health. Guess what this is endangering mental health! Now we are being tough on mental health needs!   I NEED to get outside. My government is letting me go to grocery stores and drive throughs. Yes it is allowing trips to the park with recommendations to stay six feet from other peeps.

The contact in a grocery store is 10 times that in a park where I stay away from people. 

I think you owe an apology. I assure you I am not a bad person and am not trying to be a murderer. Have you read the recommendations in Kansas? We are not trapped like rats. We are allowed to move around A BIT!!

Edited March 27, 2020 by greg775

[Texsox]

https://www.teachersoftomorrow.org/texas/fully-online-teacher-certification

I did mine on-line while working full time. This isn't the company, mine closed shortly after I finished. Basically you are looking at an Alternate Certification Program. You won't have to complete before getting hired, you can work on it as you teach. Basically you will have two tests to complete, a content test and a professional practices and responsibilities test. The classes will help you with the PPR. 

[Balta1701]

11 minutes ago, Texsox said:

https://www.teachersoftomorrow.org/texas/fully-online-teacher-certification

I did mine on-line while working full time. This isn't the company, mine closed shortly after I finished. Basically you are looking at an Alternate Certification Program. You won't have to complete before getting hired, you can work on it as you teach. Basically you will have two tests to complete, a content test and a professional practices and responsibilities test. The classes will help you with the PPR. 

You know this might be the most useful thing I can ask you - what's the schedule like for hiring people for your district (especially this year)? I don't really want to spend $300 on this and then find out that I already missed the years hirings or that I actually do get some other position around here, and I'm going to be especially swamped in the next few weeks because I have to figure out how to turn a 4 week field trip into something online. 

[StrangeSox]

17 minutes ago, bmags said:

Right, and especially in Chicago...do we want Boeing to shed all of those jobs? 

But also...the extra UI benefits are a major portion of this bill and those are not loans. Much of the corporate relief will be paid back, as it looks like it is just formalizing a process that the FED was going to do anyway.

So nationalize the companies or at least take an equity stake and claw back stockholder payments and executive bonuses. Stop privatizing all the profits and socializing all the losses.

[southsideirish71]

4 minutes ago, StrangeSox said:

So nationalize the companies or at least take an equity stake and claw back stockholder payments and executive bonuses. Stop privatizing all the profits and socializing all the losses.



Good luck with that comrade.  

[Texsox]

12 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

You know this might be the most useful thing I can ask you - what's the schedule like for hiring people for your district (especially this year)? I don't really want to spend $300 on this and then find out that I already missed the years hirings or that I actually do get some other position around here, and I'm going to be especially swamped in the next few weeks because I have to figure out how to turn a 4 week field trip into something online. 

Normally hiring is constant throughout the late spring and summer as teachers move, retire, take different positions, or whatever. This year I honestly don't know. There may be less movement from teaching to non academic positions. 

[almagest]

https://www.dailywire.com/news/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-admits-he-was-wrong-drastically-revises-model

 

I think some of the gloom and doom posters here should read this. We’ve got a problem on our hands for sure but as expected the models for COVID fatalities are being driven down pretty drastically.

[StrangeSox]

 

20 minutes ago, almagest said:

https://www.dailywire.com/news/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-admits-he-was-wrong-drastically-revises-model

 

I think some of the gloom and doom posters here should read this. We’ve got a problem on our hands for sure but as expected the models for COVID fatalities are being driven down pretty drastically.

The models are being driven down in response to the extreme social distancing measures being taken, as the models originally predicted. The actual authors of that model have come out and corrected the way some conservative media presented that the original models were somehow "wrong" or that the problem is any less serious than they originally presented. 

If we abandon the social distancing measures now, we'll shoot right back to their original projections on uncontrolled spread.

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/coronavirus-pandemic-neil-ferguson-did-not-walk-back-covid-19-predictions/

Threads from the actual researchers below:

 

47 minutes ago, southsideirish71 said:

Good luck with that comrade.  

The Federal Government took an equity stake in GM and Chrysler when they were bailed out in 2009. They could have made that a condition of aid in this bill if they desired.

Edited March 27, 2020 by StrangeSox